Human growth hormone participates in much of the regulation of normal human growth and development. This naturally-occurring single-chain pituitary hormone consists of 191 amino acid residues and has a molecular weight of approximately 22 kDa. hGH exhibits a multitude of biological effects, including linear growth (somatogenesis), lactation, activation of macrophages, and insulin-like and diabetogenic effects, among others (Chawla, R., et al., Ann. Rev. Med. 34:519-547 (1983); Isaksson, O., et al., Ann. Rev. Physiol., 47:483-499 (1985); Hughes, J. and Friesen, H., Ann. Rev. Physiol., 47:469-482 (1985)).
The structure of hGH is well known (Goeddel, D., et al., Nature 281:544-548 (1979)), and the three-dimensional structure of hGH has been solved by X-ray crystallography (de Vos, A., et al., Science 255:306-312 (1992)). The protein has a compact globular structure, comprising four amphipathic alpha helical bundles, termed A-D beginning from the N-terminus, which are joined by loops. Further discussion of hGH including its receptor and variants, and other GH superfamily members is provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/046,432 entitled “Modified Human Growth Hormone Polypeptides and Their Uses” and PCT International Patent Application No. PCT/US05/03537 entitled “Modified Human Four Helical Bundle Polypeptides and Their Uses,” which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Recombinant hGH is used as a therapeutic and has been approved for the treatment of a number of indications. hGH deficiency leads to dwarfism, for example, which has been successfully treated for more than a decade by exogenous administration of the hormone. In addition to hGH deficiency, hGH has also been approved for the treatment of renal failure (in children), Turner's Syndrome, and cachexia in AIDS patients. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved hGH for the treatment of non-GH-dependent short stature. hGH is also currently under investigation for the treatment of aging, frailty in the elderly, short bowel syndrome, and congestive heart failure. Target populations for hGH treatment include children with idiopathic short stature (ISS) and adults with GHD-like symptoms.
Recombinant hGH is currently sold as a daily injectable product, with five major products currently on the market: Humatrope™ (Eli Lilly & Co.), Nutropin™ (Genentech), Norditropin™ (Novo-Nordisk), Genotropin™ (Pfizer) and Saizen/Serostim™ (Serono). A significant challenge to using growth hormone as a therapeutic, however, is that the protein has a short in vivo half-life and, therefore, it must be administered by daily subcutaneous injection for maximum effectiveness (MacGillivray, et al., J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 81: 1806-1809 (1996)). Considerable effort is focused on means to improve the administration of hGH agonists and antagonists, by lowering the cost of production, making administration easier for the patient, improving efficacy and safety profile, and creating other properties that would provide competitive advantages. For example, Genentech and Alkermes formerly marketed Nutropin Depot™, a depot formulation of hGH, for pediatric growth hormone deficiency. While the depot permits less frequent administration (once every 2-3 weeks rather than once daily), it is also associated with undesirable side effects, such as decreased bioavailability and pain at the injection site and was withdrawn from the market in 2004. Another product, Pegvisomant™ (Pfizer), has also recently been approved by the FDA. Pegvisomant™ is a genetically-engineered analogue of hGH that functions as a highly selective growth hormone receptor antagonist indicated for the treatment of acromegaly (van der Lely, et al., The Lancet 358: 1754-1759 (2001). Although several of the amino acid side chain residues in Pegvisomant™ are derivatized with polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymers, the product is still administered once-daily, indicating that the pharmaceutical properties are not optimal. In addition to PEGylation and depot formulations, other administration routes, including inhaled and oral dosage forms of hGH, are under early-stage pre-clinical and clinical development and none have yet received approval from the FDA. Accordingly, there is a need for a polypeptide that exhibits growth hormone activity but that also provides a longer serum half-life and, therefore, more optimal therapeutic levels of hGH and an increased therapeutic half-life.
Covalent attachment of the hydrophilic polymer poly(ethylene glycol), abbreviated PEG, is a method of increasing water solubility, bioavailability, increasing serum half-life, increasing therapeutic half-life, modulating immunogenicity, modulating biological activity, or extending the circulation time of many biologically active molecules, including proteins, peptides, and particularly hydrophobic molecules. PEG has been used extensively in pharmaceuticals, on artificial implants, and in other applications where biocompatibility, lack of toxicity, and lack of immunogenicity are of importance. In order to maximize the desired properties of PEG, the total molecular weight and hydration state of the PEG polymer or polymers attached to the biologically active molecule must be sufficiently high to impart the advantageous characteristics typically associated with PEG polymer attachment, such as increased water solubility and circulating half life, while not adversely impacting the bioactivity of the parent molecule.
Recently, an entirely new technology in the protein sciences has been reported, which promises to overcome many of the limitations associated with site-specific modifications of proteins. Specifically, new components have been added to the protein biosynthetic machinery of the prokaryote Escherichia coli (E. coli) (e.g., L. Wang, et al., (2001), Science 292:498-500) and the eukaryote Sacchromyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae) (e.g., J. Chin et al., Science 301:964-7 (2003)), which has enabled the incorporation of non-genetically encoded amino acids to proteins in vivo. A number of new amino acids with novel chemical, physical or biological properties, including photoaffinity labels and photoisomerizable amino acids, photocrosslinking amino acids (see, e.g., Chin, J. W., et al. (2002) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 99:11020-11024; and, Chin, J. W., et al., (2002) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 124:9026-9027), keto amino acids, heavy atom containing amino acids, and glycosylated amino acids have been incorporated efficiently and with high fidelity into proteins in E. coli and in yeast in response to the amber codon, TAG, using this methodology. See, e.g., J. W. Chin et al., (2002), Journal of the American Chemical Society 124:9026-9027; J. W. Chin, & P. G. Schultz, (2002), Chem Bio Chem 3(11):1135-1137; J. W. Chin, et al., (2002), PNAS United States of America 99:11020-11024; and, L. Wang, & P. G. Schultz, (2002), Chem. Comm., 1:1-11. All references are incorporated by reference in their entirety. These studies have demonstrated that it is possible to selectively and routinely introduce chemical functional groups, such as ketone groups, alkyne groups and azide moieties, that are not found in proteins, that are chemically inert to all of the functional groups found in the 20 common, genetically-encoded amino acids and that may be used to react efficiently and selectively to form stable covalent linkages.
The ability to incorporate non-genetically encoded amino acids into proteins permits the introduction of chemical functional groups that could provide valuable alternatives to the naturally-occurring functional groups, such as the epsilon —NH2 of lysine, the sulfhydryl —SH of cysteine, the imino group of histidine, etc.
Human growth hormone formulations may be lyophilized preparations requiring reconstitution or aqueous formulations. Per vial, Protropin™ hGH consists of 5 mg hGH, 40 mg mannitol, 0.1 mg monobasic sodium phosphate, 1.6 mg dibasic sodium phosphate, reconstituted to pH 7.8 (Physician's Desk Reference, Medical Economics Co., Orawell, N.J., p. 1049, 1992). Per vial, Humatrope™ hGH consists of 5 mg hGH, 25 mg mannitol, 5 mg glycine, 1.13 mg dibasic sodium phosphate, reconstituted to pH 7.5 (Physician's Desk Reference, p. 1266, 1992). Examples of aqueous human growth hormone formulations are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,763,394; 5,981,485; 6,448,225; and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0013653, each of which are incorporated by reference herein.
For a general review for growth hormone formulations, see Pearlman et al., Current Communications in Molecular Biology, eds. D. Marshak and D. Liu, pp. 23-30, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 1989, which is incorporated by reference herein. Other publications of interest regarding stabilization of proteins are as follows.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,297,344, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses stabilization of coagulation factors II and VIII, antithrombin III, and plasminogen against heat by adding selected amino acids such as glycine, alanine, hydroxyproline, glutamine, and aminobutyric acid, and a carbohydrate such as a monosaccharide, an oligosaccharide, or a sugar alcohol.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,441, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a method for the prevention of denaturation of proteins such as insulin in aqueous solution at interfaces by the addition of up to 500 ppm surface-active substances comprising a chain of alternating, weakly hydrophilic and weakly hydrophobic zones at pH 6.8-8.0.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,557, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a method of stabilization of interleukin-2 using human serum albumin.
European Patent Application Publication No. 0 303 746, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses stabilization of growth promoting hormones with polyols consisting of non-reducing sugars, sugar alcohols, sugar acids, pentaerythritol, lactose, water-soluble dextrans, and Ficoll, amino acids, polymers of amino acids having a charged side group at physiological pH, and choline salts.
European Patent Application Publication No. 0 211 601, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses the stabilization of growth promoting hormones in a gel matrix formed by a block copolymer containing polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene units and having an average molecular weight of about 1,100 to about 40,000.
European Patent Application Publication No. 0 193 917, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a biologically active composition for slow release characterized by a water solution of a complex between a protein and a carbohydrate.
International Patent Publication No. WO 89/09614 and Australian patent application No. 30771/89, which are incorporated by reference herein, disclose a stable pharmaceutical formulation containing human growth hormone, glycine, and mannitol. Such a preparation shows improved stability during normal processing and storage in a lyophilized state as well as in the period of use after the reconstitution.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,885, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a formulation of hGH for lyophilization containing glycine, mannitol, a non-ionic surfactant, and a buffer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,568, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses that animal growth hormone may be stabilized with various stabilizers to give decreased formation of insolubles and preservation of the soluble activity in aqueous environments. Such stabilizers including certain polyols, amino acids, polymers of amino acids having a charged side group at physiological pH, and choline salts. Polyols are selected from the group consisting of non-reducing sugars, sugar alcohols, sugar acids, pentaerythritol, lactose, water-soluble dextrans and Ficoll; amino acids are selected from the group consisting of glycine, sarcosine, lysine or salts thereof, serine, arginine or salts thereof, betaine, N,N,-dimethyl-glycine, aspartic acid or salts thereof, glutamic acid or salts thereof; a polymer of an amino acid having a charged side group at physiological pH may be selected from polylysine, polyaspartic acid, polyglutamic acid, polyarginine, polyhistidine, polyornithine and salts thereof, and choline derivatives are selected from the group consisting of choline chloride, choline dihydrogen citrate, choline bitartrate, choline bicarbonate, tricholine citrate, choline ascorbate, choline borate, choline gluconate, choline phosphate, di(choline)sulphate and dicholine mucate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,568, which is incorporated by reference herein, notes that polyhistidine can be used as a potential stabilizer for animal growth hormone but there is no indication whether it stabilizes an animal growth hormone or human growth hormone. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,568 mentions that poly-DL-lysine HBr is preferred.
EP 374120, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a stabilized preparation of growth hormone comprising a buffered polyol excipient comprising a polyol having three hydroxy groups and a buffer to achieve a pH in a range in which the growth hormone retains its bioactivity for a sufficient period of time. Histidine is mentioned as a buffer for a polyol having three hydroxy groups. Specifically, EP 374120 teaches that histidine hydrochloride may be used as a buffer for buffering a polyol having three hydroxy groups for improving the stability of a growth hormone preparation in the form of a solution comprising a high concentration of growth hormone and a polyol as stabilizer. Furthermore, histidine hydrochloride must be added in an amount of about 3% by weight of the solution corresponding to a concentration of ˜0.15M solution of histidine hydrochloride. EP 374120 also teaches that histidine alone does not impart chemical and physical stability to a growth hormone preparation.
Sorensen et al., WO 93/12812, which is incorporated by reference herein, teaches that growth hormone can be stabilized by the presence of histidine or a histidine derivative. If the growth hormone is lyophilized, the composition can also comprise a bulking agent, i.e. sugar alcohols, disaccharides, and mixtures thereof. Sorensen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,849,704, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a pharmaceutical formulation comprising a growth hormone and histidine or a derivative of histidine as an additive or buffering substance added to provide stability against deamidation, oxidation or cleavage of the peptide bonds in the growth hormone. Also disclosed is that crystallization of growth hormone in the presence of histidine or a derivative thereof gives rise to a higher yield of crystals having higher purity than known methods. Formulations of human growth hormone variants have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,136,563 and 5,849,535, which are incorporated by reference herein.
hGH undergoes breakdown via several degradative pathways, including deamidation, aggregation, clipping of the peptide backbone, and oxidation of methionine residues. Additional products result from degradation of conjugates of hGH covalently attached to a water soluble polymer such PEG. A pharmaceutical formulation of hGH that provides acceptable control of degradation products, has maintained stability of hGH over a prolonged period of time, and is stable to vigorous agitation (which induces aggregation) would be particularly advantageous.